Common Sense, Volume III, Second Quarter 2022

Inflation:

The US is now in its greatest inflationary period in over 40 years. The current administration has pumped over $5 trillion into the economy in the past two years and they wonder why we have this situation. According to Bloomberg, inflation will cost families an extra $5,200 annually.  This is a catastrophic burden for the middle and lower income taxpayers.  The administration has no answer or plan to get us out of this third world dilemma, except to put more money in the economy.

“Inflation - It is a way to take people's wealth from them without having to openly raise taxes. Inflation is the most universal tax of all.” —Thomas Sowell

Energy Costs:

When President Biden took office January 20, 2021, the average price for a gallon of regular gas was $2.38.  The average price increased to $3.58 prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.  The current administration’s message to the US energy producers was;  drilling was going to be more difficult to permit, and, that the nation was transitioning to wind and solar. This was a sign for the oil producers to pull back investment.  Additionally, more permitting requirements were placed on the energy companies as well as a discontinuance of drilling on Federal Lands.  What would you expect was going to happen?  We were once energy independent during the last administration and now we are begging our adversaries to sell us oil at inflated prices. The real irony here is that Russia, Venezuela, Iran, and Saudi Arabia are all going to continue to drill so what is the difference? This now translates into a National Security crisis.  We are once again dependent on other countries for our energy.

“As long as the United States - and the world - gets its oil from the Middle East, we will be drawn into the endless crisis that seem endemic to the region. American energy independence would not only liberate us, it would also drive down the worldwide price of oil.” — Kathleen Troia McFarland

Border Crisis:

It is impossible to think about our current immigration crisis in any rational manner. The current administration has spent billions of dollars to stop construction of the southern wall while they literally invite immigrants to come into our country. We have encountered 1.47 million immigrants at the southern border to date, 320,000 in April alone.  According to the Washington Times, cartels are making over $6 Billion annually.  Human trafficking, terrorists, rapists, and MS 13 gangs are all invited.  Surely we are capable of securing our southern border as demonstrated by the last administration. So, is the current administration inept, or incapable of securing our border? Or do they want the unbridled immigration…that is a frightening thought.

“The Democrats need poor, dependent people if they're gonna stay in business. And if we don't have enough poverty at home, we'll import it. That's what our open-borders policy is: It's about importing poverty and importing the number of potential registered voters for the Democrat party.” — Rush Limbaugh

Crime: 

It looks like we are witnessing one of the largest spikes of crime in our  Nation’s history.  When the left didn’t stop the rioting and looting during the summer of 2021 and cried for defunding the police everything changed. Those cities that followed through with the defunding are now paying the price.

“Crime is surging in the US - and it’s only getting worse.  Homicides increased by 7% in 2021 and gun violence has been on the rise since 2014, with deadly shootings in large cities up by 80%.  MoneyGeek, a personal finance technology company, recently analyzed crime statistics in nearly 300 cities with populations over 100,000 to rank the most dangerous cities in the US, as well as the safest cities in America,  a useful list for everyone from travelers to concerned citizens.”

Most Dangerous Cities
1. St. Louis, Missouri
2. Jackson, Mississippi
3. Detroit, Michigan
4. New Orleans, Louisiana
5. Baltimore, Maryland
6. Memphis, Tennessee
7. Cleveland, Ohio
8. Baton Rouge, Louisiana
9. Kansas City, Missouri
10. Shreveport, Louisiana

By the way, all of these cities are Democrat controlled.  Other major  Democrat controlled cities have also seen a large increase in overall crime.  New York, Chicago and Los Angeles all fit in this category.